Corbett forces Cabinet secretary Allan to resign

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources secretary resigned at the governor's request Thursday, but the reasons for the change were not immediately disclosed.

Gov. Tom Corbett issued a news release saying he had just "asked for and received" the resignation of Secretary Richard J. Allan earlier in the morning.

Allan, 60, has led the department since shortly after the first-term Republican governor took office in early 2011. A phone message was left at his Camp Hill home and at the department's press office.

The acting secretary, effective immediately, is Ellen Ferretti, who had been the deputy secretary for parks and forestry.

Allan has had a low profile in the Corbett administration, which he joined after a career in the scrap metal industry.

The department manages the state parks and forests, and has recently faced public opposition over potential drilling for natural gas in 100,000-acre Loyalsock State Forest. Some 500 people attended a public hearing on the issue last week, with opponents arguing the land was a public trust and voicing particular concern for drilling near Rock Run, a pristine stream.

Allan was graduated from Nanticoke Area High School and Wilkes University.

The governor's news release referred questions to spokesman Kevin Harley, whose office said he was not available to speak with a reporter.